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Muhlenberg  College, 


AN  ADDRESS 

DELIVERED  BEFORE 

The  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania. 

by  Rev.  t.  l.  seip,  d.  d„  » 

President  of  the  College,  Allentown,  Pa. 


PUBLISHED  ZBTT  REQUEST. 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


AN  ADDRESS 

DELIVERED  BEFORE 

THE  MINISTERIUI  OF  PENNSYLVANIA 


AT  ITS 


MOTH  MNU1L  MEETING, 

HELD  IN  ZION’S  CHURCH,  PHILADELPHIA,  JUNE  2,  1887. 


By  Bev.  T.  L.  SE1P,  D.D., 

President  of  Muhlenberg  College,  Allentown,  Pa, 


WITH  AN  EDITORIAL  FROM  “THE  LUTHERAN.” 


PUBLISHED  BY  REQUEST. 


I 


Allentown,  Pa.,  June  28 th,  1887. 
Pres.  T.  L.  Seip,  D.D.,  Muhlenberg  College. 

Rev.  and  Dear  Sir: — At  the  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  Trustees  of  Muhlenberg  College,  held  on  the  24th  inst.,  we  were 
appointed  to  request  for  publication  a copy  of  your  address  on  Muhlen- 
berg College,  delivered  at  the  late  convention  of  the  Ministerium  of 
Pennsylvania.  It  is  the  concurrent  judgment  of  the  Committee  that 
the  circulation  of  the  address  through  our  congregations  would  promote 
the  interest  of  the  institution,  and  press  its  claims  upon  the  attention  of 
our  people.  Hoping  that  you  will  furnish  us  with  a copy  of  the  address 
at  an  early  date,  we  are, 

Very  respectfully, 

S.  A.  Repass,  \ 

E.  S.  Shimer,  >■  Committee. 

C.  J.  Cooper,  ) 


Allentown,  Pa.,  July  2d,  1887. 

Dear  Brethren : — In  answer  to  your  note  of  the  28th  ult.,  permit  me 
to  say,  that  my  address  was  not  prepared  for  publication ; but,  as  you 
seem  to  think  that  its  circulation  would  serve  the  cause  of  the  Church 
and  the  College,  which  are  so  dear  to  us  all,  I will  cheerfully  furnish  it. 
Praying  that  the  Divine  blessing  may  attend  this  effort  to  promote  the 
interests  of  Christian  education,  I am,  with  sincere  regard, 

Yours  in  Christ, 

T.  L.  Seip. 

Rey.  Dr.  S.  A.  Repass,  -j 

Hon.  E.  S.  Shimer,  > Committee. 

Rev.  C.  J.  Cooper,  J 


3 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


[Editorial from  the  “Lutheran,”  June  23,  1887.) 


We  are  pleased  that  we  have  secured,  and  have  been  able  to 
spread  before  the  eyes  of  our  people,  and  the  friends  of  Christian 
education,  the  valuable  reflections  contained  in  the  discourse  of 
President  Seip,  prepared  by  the  authority  of  the  Synod  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  delivered  in  the  presence  of  its  members  and  a large 
congregation,  in  Zion’s  Lutheran  Church,  Philadelphia. 

It  will  not  be  possible  in  brief  space  to  call  attention  at  length  to 
its  remarkable  and  interesting  statistics.  Muhlenberg  College  in 
the  twenty  years  of  its  existence  has  furnished  fifty  members  for  the 
Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania,  who  are  successfully  ministering  to 
our  churches  in  both  languages,  and  has  also  many  of  her  graduates 
laboring  in  theological  and  literary  institutions  and  the  Christian 
ministry  in  other  places  and  parts  of  our  land,  as  Augustana  Semi- 
nary, Gustavus  Adolphus  College,  Ohio,  Western  Pennsylvania, 
Canada,  etc.,  and  of  her  two  hundred  and  twenty-four  sons  more 
than  one  half  are  engaged  in  this  glorious  and  necessary  work. 
Besides  this,  the  remaining  half  have  shown  themselves  useful  as 
physicians,  legislators,  lawyers,  and  in  other  honorable  pursuits. 
Such  an  interesting  record  has  she  made  during  the  firsts  twenty 
years  of  her  honorable  existence,  for  which  we  should  “ thank  God 
and  take  courage.”  This  thought  deserves  special  emphasis  when 
we  ask,  in  connection  with  it,  what  would  be  the  condition  of  things 
in  the  Ministerium,  and  in  other  fields,  if  the  College  had  not  been 
founded  ? 


5 


6 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


There  is  a second  thought,  which  was  impressed  with  much  force 
upon  us  at  the  meeting  of  the  Synod,  and  since,  in  connection  with 
the  strenuous  efforts  made  to  secure  money  for  the  erection  of  the 
new  seminary  buildings  at  Mount  Airy.  What  hope  would  there 
be  of  securing  the  College  now , if  arrangements  had  not  been  made 
•with  wise  foresight,  in  advance  of  the  present  condition  of  things, 
to  furnish  the  Church  with  a suitable  place  for  the  education  of  her 
sons  ? We  give  expression  to  this  thought  here  because  the  former 
trustees  and  friends  of  the  College  have  often  been  severely  cen- 
sured for  acquiring  the  property  and  erecting  the  valuable  build- 
ings they  now  possess  for  the  Synod.  They  did  no  more  than  the 
directors  and  friends  of  the  seminary  are  doing  now ; and  it  is  well 
that  they  did  so.  Necessity  compelled  them  to  it ; we  rejoice  now 
greatly  that  it  was  done,  and  we  ought  not  to  forget  the  circum- 
stances which  occasioned  the  debt,  and  what  prevented  it  from  being 
at  once  liquidated.  It  was  absolutely  necessary  at  the  time  the 
College  was  started,  when  it  was  to  enter  into  competition  with  old, 
long-established  collegiate  institutions  around  and  near  to  it,  such 
as  Pennsylvania,  Dickinson,  Franklin  and  Marshall,  Lehigh  and 
Lafayette,  to  have  such  accommodations  for  the  students  wdiich, 
even  though  not  equally  attractive,  might  not  be  repulsive  to  them. 
This  was  accomplished  at  a comparatively  moderate  cost,  and  if  the 
original  expectations  and  promises  had  been  carried  out  and  ful- 
filled, there  would  have  been  no  debt.  The  brethren  of  the  present 
generation  ought  to  know,  and  those  of  the  past  remember,  that 
during  the  jubilee  year,  1867,  $50,000  of  the  $100,000  expected  to 
be  raised  were  to  be  given  to  the  College.  One  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  minus  a small  fraction,  were  raised,  but  the  share  of  the 
College  was  directed  to  local  objects.  The  debt  therefore  remained; 
and  the  trustees  and  friends  were  left  to  work  out  the  problem  for 
themselves.  This  they  endeavored  to  do,  and  let  it  be  kept  in  mind 
that  the  College  lived  through  all  these  “ troublous  times,”  still 
lives ; and  will,  by  the  blessing  *of  God,  continue  to  do  so.  Some- 
times brethren  speak  as  if  the  money  had  been  spent  for  nothing. 
It  was  not.  The  debt  was  incurred  by  necessity,  to  keep  the  sub- 
stantial possessions  they  had  acquired. 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


7 


In  this  period,  hundreds  of  gentlemen  of  Allentown  and  the 
neighborhood  were  induced,  by  the  persistent  labors  “ from  house  to 
house”  of  the  trustees  and  friends  of  the  College,  to  relinquish 
their  individual  shares  of  stock  for  the  benefit  of  the  institution, 
without  any  equivalent ; and  thus  a start  of  many  thousands  was 
successfully  made.  By  other  labors,  loans,  temporary  and  perma- 
nent, they  secured  for  the  Church,  the  Synod  of  Pennsylvania, 
sufficient  buildings  for  all  their  purposes,  including  two  excellent 
residences  for  the  president  and  one  of  the  professors,  now  in  most 
excellent  condition,  through  the  efficient  labors  of  the  present  head 
of  the  institution,  the  financial  agent  and  other  friends ; some  five 
acres  of  ground  in  the  central  part  of  the  beautiful  city  of  Allen- 
town, continually  increasing  in  value;  an  endowment  of  $120,000, 
equal  to  that  of  Pennsylvania  College  after  almost  three  times  as 
long  an  existence;  educational  furniture,  apparatus,  library,  etc. 
Thus  it  is  seen  the  debt  has  not  been  for  naught ; nor  have  any  of 
the  means  been  squandered  in  excessive  salaries  or  unnecessary  con- 
veniences, but  all  for  what  is  solid  and  permanent.  Let  all  this 
remarkable  condition  of  things  be  remembered  as  an  offset  to  the 
unreasonable  complaints,  and  thanks  offered  to  God  on  this  behalf. 

One  last  thought.  A grand  future  is  before  us,  but  we  must  not 
relax  our  exertions,  but  continue  to  do  our  duty  to  the  College,  the 
nursery  of  the  Church  and  the  Seminary.  The  Synod  has  authorized 
and  given  its  sanction  to  a plan  by  which  this  worthy  institution 
can  and  ought  to  be  freed  from  its  still  remaining  burdens.  It 
needs  additional  support,  just  like  the  oldest  colleges  and  universities 
of  our  land.  In  the  month  of  October  ensuing,  an  opportunity  will 
be  given  to  our  churches  and  people  to  contribute  for  the  complete 
endowment  of  the  German  Professorship  in  the  College.  This  ought 
to  be  done  at  the  very  least.  We  ought  not  to  forget  that  Christian 
schools  and  colleges,  Christian  theological  seminaries  in  connection 
with  or  as  aids  to  the  Christian  Church,  are  the  only  hope  of  our 
land  and  the  world.  Let  the  example  of  New  England  stimulate 
the  children  of  the  mother  Church  of  the  Reformation.  Millions 
have  been  and  are  now  being  given  for  institutions  of  this  character, 
and  so  general  is  the  habit  of  giving  in  that  part  of  our  country, 


8 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


that  it  has  been  said  that  an  individual  cannot  die  with  an  easy 
conscience  unless  he  has  left  some  of  his  substance  to  the  literary 
and  religious  Christian  schools  by  which  he  and  his  fellow-citizens 
have  been  educated.  Those  gifts  will  not  be  lost ; those  given  to 
Harvard  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  since  still  continue  to  diffuse 
blessings  to  society.  Let  us  give,  rich  and  poor,  each  according  to 
his  ability,  whilst  we  live  as  well  as  when  we  die,  to  the  cause  of 
Christ  and  his  holy  religion.  It  will  be  amply  repaid  in  time  and 
eternity. 


ADDRESS. 

The  subject  which  was  assigned  us  for  this  occasion,  and  on  which 
we  propose  to  address  you  briefly,  is 

MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 

It  is  fitting  that  our  College,  which  was  named  in  honor  of  the 
patriarch  Muhlenberg,  should  receive  special  consideration  at  this 
meeting  of  the  Ministerium,  at  which  centennial  services,  in  com- 
memoration of  that  distinguished  servant  of  God  and  founder  of 
our  Church  in  this  country,  are  to  be  held. 

It  is  fitting  and  in  harmony  with  this  celebration,  that  we  should 
speak  of  Muhlenberg  College  in  this  congregation,  and  in  this  city, 
in  which  Muhlenberg  labored  so  faithfully  and  efficiently,  and  with 
whose  history  his  name  is  so  honorably  and  indissolubly  connected. 
It  is  also  fitting  because  of  the  vital  relation  of  the  College,  as  the 
training-school  of  the  Synod,  to  our  Theological  Seminary ; because 
of  its  growing  importance  to  the  work  of  furnishing  an  adequate 
supply  of  trained  ministers  for  our  own  pulpits  and  for  the  mission 
field,  and  of  an  educated  laity  for  our  congregations ; in  short,  be- 
cause of  its  importance  as  the  educational  foundation  on  which  our 
church  work  in  every  department  will  largely  rest  in  the  future.  If 
this  be  so,  let  us  remark,  in  passing,  how  necessary  it  is  to  the  future 
prosperity  of  the  Church  entrusted  to  our  care,  that  this  foundation 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


9 


be  made  deep  and  broad,  that  it  be  strengthened  in  every  possible 
way  by  all  the  means  at  our  command  for  this  purpose. 

In  presenting  this  subject  we  propose  to  discuss  two  points,  1.  The 
importance  of  the  College  to  the  work  of  the  Church,  and  2.  The 
duty  of  the  Church  to  the  College. 

We  need  not  enter  into  a lengthy  argument  in  .this  presence  to 
show  the  importance  and  necessity  of  an  educated  ministry  for  the 
Church,  of  men  thoroughly  furnished  for  the  work,  of  able  ministers 
of  the  New  Testament.  A body  of  divines  distinguished  by  the 
name  and  teaching  of  Luther,  whose  church,  from  the  time  of  the 
“ Preceptor  of  Germany  ” until  now,  has  shone  with  the  lustre  of 
the  brightest  names  renowned  for  sacred  learning,  surely  appreciates 
the  importance  of  an  educated  ministry.  The  history  of  the  Re- 
formation, our  own  incomparable  symbolical  books,  especially  the 
great  Apology  of  the  Augsburg  Confession,  from  the  pen  of  that 
phenomenal  scholar,  Melanchthon,  all  show  with  what  signal  effect 
the  weapon  of  sanctified  learning  may  be  wielded.  The  labors  and 
productions  of  Lutheran  scholars  in  every  department  of  learning, 
sacred  and  profane,  from  the  Reformation  period  until  the  present 
day,  form  an  invincible  proof  of  the  importance  which  our  church 
has  ever  attached  to  education  and  learning. 

The  Lutheran  Church  has  always  been  distinguished  as  the  church 
of  theologians  and  scholars,  and  if  we  remain  true  to  her  spirit  and 
character,  we  will  not  only  endeavor  to  maintain  this  distinction, 
but  will  show  our  appreciation  of  the  need  of  an  educated  ministry 
by  putting  forth  every  possible  effort  to  furnish  it.  When  we  con- 
sider the  need  of  an  educated  ministry  in  the  light  of  our  past  his- 
tory, and  of  the  growing  demands  now  pressing  upon  us,  and  of  the 
possibilities  of  the  future,  the  importance  of  the  College  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  Church  must  be  very  evident.  For  how  are  we  to 
furnish  an  educated  ministry  without  the  institutions,  which  are 
necessary  to  educate  it  ? Where  are  our  young  men  to  be  educated 
and  their  characters  formed  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  and  faith  of 
our  Church  ; where  are  we  to  give  them  their  preparatory  training 
for  admission  to  our  Theological  Seminary,  if  not  in  a college  of  our 
own,  established  and  sustained  by  the  Church,  on  our  own  territory  ? 


10 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


We  need  not  dwell  on  the  great  demand  for  laborers  at  home  and 
abroad,  to  prosecute  the  work  of  home  and  foreign  missions.  This 
subject  will  be  presented  by  others  at  the  proper  time.  But  you 
will  permit  me  to  remark  that  the  field  open  to  faithful  ministers  of 
our  own  Church  is  almost  unlimited,  and  ought  to  be  more  rapidly 
occupied  and  worked  than  it  is  possible  for  us  to  do  with  our  pres- 
ent supply,  even  if  the  means  for  their  s.upport  were  already  at  hand. 
A constantly-increasing  supply  of  properly  equipped  men  will  be 
needed  to  take  the  places  of  ministers  who  are  rapidly  passing  away, 
or  becoming  superannuated,  or  otherwise  disabled.  The  proportion 
of  such  will  be  greater  annually  as  the  list  of  ministers  becomes 
larger  with  the  growth  of  our  Church  in  new  fields.  If  we  look 
over  our  own  Ministerium,  we  see  the  grave-yard  bloom  on  many  a 
brow,  and  very  soon  the  places  that  now  know  many  of  our  number 
will  know  them  no  more.  How  is  this  increasing  demand  for  labor- 
ers at  home  and  abroad  to  be  supplied  ? How  are  the  growing  an- 
nual losses  to  be  made  up  except  by  the  agency  of  our  training- 
schools  for  the  ministry,  by  giving  greater  attention  and  support  to 
the  educational  work  of  the  Church,  by  securing  the  right  kind  of 
students  for  the  College  and  Seminary  ? 

St.  Paul  tells  us  that,  “ It  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  to  save  them  that  believe.”  1 Cor.  1 : 21.  The  same 
Apostle  says,  “ How  shall  they  believe  in  him  of  whom  they  have 
not  heard  ? And  how  shall  they  hear  without  a preacher  ? And 
how  shall  they  preach  except  they  be  sent  ?’;  Rom.  10  : 14,  15.  And 
we  may  add,  How  shall  they  be  sent  except  they  be  properly  edu- 
cated and  equipped  for  the  work  ? From  every  point  of  view  the 
College  lies  at  the  foundation  of  our  entire  church  work.  But  the 
importance  of  the  College  to  the  work  of  the  Church  appears  not 
only  in  the  preparatory  training  of  young  men  for  the  ministry,  but 
also  in  the  very  significant  matter  of  educating  laymen  for  useful- 
ness in  our  congregations.  This  part  of  the  work  of  the  College  is 
not  always  remembered  and  valued  as  it  should  be. 

Our  congregations  everywhere  need  the  services  of  intelligent 
laymen,  educated  in  accordance  with  the  faith,  the  usages  and  the 
spirit  of  our  own  Church,  in  our  own  schools  and  colleges.  The 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


11 


congregations  need  laymen  of  liberal  training,  who  are  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  various  interests  and  operations  of  the  Church 
outside  their  own  localities,  and  have  an  intelligent  conception  of 
church  work  and  of  the  great  mission  which  the  Lord  has  given  our 
Church  to  perform,  especially  in  this  broad  land.  Laymen  with 
such  training  and  qualifications  are  needed  to  influence  their  fellow- 
members,  and  to  assist  and  sustain  their  pastors,  in  their  efforts  to 
promote  the  various  interests  and  enterprises  of  the  Church.  Such 
men  are  needed  as  teachers  and  officers  in  our  Sunday-schools,  and 
as  advocates  of  every  good  work  in  the  public  meetings  of  the  con- 
gregations. They  are  needed  to  represent  our  Church  as  she  de- 
serves to  be  represented  in  the  community  of  laymen  at  large,  in 
the  daily  intercourse,  not  only  of  those  in  the  learned  professions, 
but  also  in  social  and  business  circles.  Educated  laymen  are  needed 
also  to  counsel  and  co-operate  with  the  active  members  of  the  Church, 
who  have  not  had  the  benefit  of  a liberal  training,  but  are  important 
and  useful  in  the  work  of  the  Church  according  as  they  faithfully 
employ  the  talents  with  which  the  Lord  has  entrusted  them.  The 
Church  needs  and  cherishes  zealous,  godly  men  of  whatever  degree 
of  learning  or  education  they  may  be ; but,  other  things  being  equal, 
skilled  laborers,  laymen  with  a liberal  training  in  harmony  with  the 
teachings  of  our  most  holy  faith,  will  be  more  serviceable  in  Church 
work  than  if  they  were  not  thus  specially  prepared  for  it.  It  is  of 
no  slight  advantage  and  importance  to  the  Church  and  her  member- 
ship also  to  have  her  representatives  in  the  professions  of  medicine, 
law  and  teaching.  How  great  a boon  it  would  be  to  our  people  in 
times  of  sickness,  to  be  able  to  call  to  their  bedside  Christian  phy- 
sicians, of  their  own  household  of  faith,  to  minister,  not  only  to 
their  sick  bodies,  but,  it  may  be,  to  “ minds  diseased”  ! What  a 
blessed  calling  is  that  of  the  Christian  physician,  who,  in  imitation 
of  his  Divine  Master,  not  only  heals  the  diseased  body,  but  minis- 
ters to  the  sick  soul.  Such  physicians  would  be  a blessing  to  every 
congregation.  The  same  is  true  to  a large  extent  of  the  other  pro- 
fessions. God-fearing,  Christian  lawyers  are  greatly  needed  to  de- 
fend the  rights  of  the  wronged,  to  secure  justice  for  the  oppressed, 
to  protect  the  innocent  from  wrong-doers  ; in  short,  to  conserve  the 


12 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


rights  of  their  fellow-men.  We  need  not  dwell  at  length  on  the  im- 
portance of  having  faithful,  Christian  teachers.  The  good  they  can 
do  for  the  Church  and  the  world  is  incalculable.  They  have  the 
power  largely  to  mould  the  character  of  Church  and  State  for  the 
future,  by  the  influence  they  may  exert  on  the  youth  entrusted  to 
their  care.  The  youthful  mind  is  plastic.  It  can  be  moulded  and 
fashioned  almost  at  will.  How  essential  to  the  well-being  of  society 
that  it  should  be  formed  aright.  The  conscientious,  Christian 
teacher  is  careful  of  the  influence  which  he  exerts  on  those  commit- 
ted to  his  charge,  and,  like  the  Divine  Teacher,  instructs  his  pupils 
in  that  wisdom  which  maketh  wise  unto  salvation.  Such  teachers 
are  often  the  most  efficient  helps  of  our  pastors  in  their  work.  They 
are  among  our  most  active  and  useful  members  as  Sunday-school 
superintendents  and  officers,  and  are  in  every  way  a blessing  to  the 
congregation.  The  importance,  therefore,  of  having  well-trained 
laymen  as  well  as  educated  ministers  as  skilled  laborers  cannot  be 
over-estimated,  and  should  elicit  our  most  earnest  efforts  to  secure 
them. 

The  importance  of  the  College  to  the  work  of  the  Church  is  shown 
also  by  what  it  has  already  accomplished  in  the  education  of  young 
men  for  the  ministry  and  for  usefulness  as  laymen  in  our  congrega- 
tions. Of  the  224  graduates  of  the  College,  92  have  already  entered 
the  ministry,  and  about  30  have  been  preparing  for  it  in  our  Theo- 
logical Seminary  during  the  term  that  has  just  closed.  Several,  who 
were  members  of  other  communions,  have  pursued  theological  stud- 
ies elsewhere.  Thus  out  of  224  alumni,  122,  or  over  half,  have  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  holy  ministry  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ.  If  you  examine  the  list  of  this  body,  you  will  find 
that  over  50  of  the  members  of  this  Ministerium,  as  given  in  the 
minutes  of  1886,  were  educated  in  Muhlenberg  College,  a very  re- 
spectable percentage  of  the  Synod. 

Although  the  College  is  not  quite  twenty  years  old,  and  most  of 
her  graduates  are  still  young  men,  scarcely  any  having  reached 
middle  age,  yet  a goodly  number  have  already  distinguished  them- 
selves as  professors  in  theological  and  literary  institutions ; as  pas- 
tors of  most  important  charges  and  congregations ; as  superintend- 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


13 


ents  and  teachers  in  our  public  schools ; as  editors  and  writers  for 
the  religious  and  secular  press  ; as  laymen  prominent  in  the  profes- 
sion of  their  choice,  some  even  having  won  honorable  names  and 
titles  in  public  life.  Others  are  useful  lay  members  in  our  congre- 
gations, blessing  themselves  and  their  fellow  men,  by  reason  of  the 
liberal  Christian  training  which  they  received  in  the  formative 
period  of  their  lives  in  Muhlenberg  College. 

Thus  the  importance  of  the  College  to  the  work  of  the  Church 
appears  when  we  consider  what  it  has  done,  as  the  preparatory 
school  for  our  Theological  Seminary,  in  the  education  of  young  men 
for  the  ministry,  and  for  usefulness  in  the  Church  also^  as  lay- 
men. 

Its  importance  is  very  evident,  even  to  the  natural  vision,  when 
we  see  how  rapidly  the  losses  in  our  own  Ministerium  are  made  up, 
and  the  gains  increased  by  the  graduates  of  the  College,  to  say  no- 
thing of  the  excellent  men  whom  it  has  furnished  to  the  Western 
institutions,  and  other  synods  of  the  General  Council.  We  think 
we  remain  within  the  bounds  of  modesty  when  we  claim  that  the 
College  has  done  a great  work  for  the  Church,  during  the  short  time 
of  its  existence,  in  comparison  with  the  limited  means,  which  have 
thus  far  been  received  directly  from  the  Church.  Much  more, 
doubtless,  would  have  been  accomplished  if  the  educational  work  of 
the  Church  had  received  the  attention  and  support  which  it  de- 
served. But  we  thank  God  for  the  good  that  the  College  has  been 
permitted  to  do  in  the  past,  though  under  great  discouragements, 
and  we  trust  in  Him  for  the  future. 

2.  The  duty  of  the  Church  to  the  College  will  appear  from  the 
following  considerations  : 

Muhlenberg  College  is  the  college  of  this  Ministerium,  owned  and 
controlled  by  it  through  its  own  chosen  representatives.  It  occupies 
exactly  the  same  confessional  position  with  it.  All  the  members  of 
its  faculty,  without  exception,  are  members  in  regular  standing  with 
this  Ministerium,  or  of  congregations  in  connection  with  it.  They 
believe,  and  are  under  solemn  obligations  to  teach,  the  truth  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  as  confessed  in  the  symbols  of  our  Church. 
The  distinctive  position  occupied  by  the  institution  as  the  College  of 


14 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


this  Synod  excludes  it  very  largely  from  the  active  sympathy  and 
support  of  those  who  are  not  of  our  Church,  and  the  fact  that  it  is 
not  a secular  or  State  institution  deprives  it  of  public  aid.  Under 
these  conditions  and  circumstances  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  sus- 
tain her  own  College  is  all  the  more  imperative.  This  duty  not  only 
grows  out  of  the  relations,  which  the  Synod  sustains  to  the  College, 
but  arises  also  from  the  importance  of  the  College  to  the  work  of 
the  Synod  and  Church,  as  already  shown.  As  the  work  of  the 
Church  in  every  department  depends  on  the  supply  of  trained 
laborers,  the  College  is  the  foundation  of  it  all,  and  hence  the  duty 
of  the  Church  to  the  College  is  of  prime  importance.  This  will 
appear  when  you  consider  the  fact  that  nearly  one-half  of  the  stu- 
dents in  our  Theological  Seminary,  during  the  past  year,  were 
graduates  of  Muhlenberg  College.  Of  the  present  class  of  young 
men,  just  graduated  by  the  Seminary,  fifteen  out  of  the  nineteen  are 
graduates  of  Muhlenberg  College. 

The  duty  and  wisdom  of  the  Church  in  providing  and  liberally 
sustaining  a college  in  which  her  own  lay  membership  may  be  fur- 
nished a higher  Christian  education  in  accord  with  her  own  faith 
and  usages  will  hardly  be  questioned.  We  will  not  take  the  time 
to  enlarge  upon  this  point,  and  show  the  losses  we  have  suffered  in 
the  past  from  want  of  proper  attention  to  this  matter.  Let  us  be 
wiser  in  the  future,  and  by  all  proper  means  endeavor  to  avoid  a 
repetition  of  such  losses.  This  can  only  be  done  by  hearty  sympathy 
and  active  co-operation  on  the  part  of  all  that  are  interested  in  the 
work  of  the  Church.  The  trustees  and  authorities  of  the  College, 
placed  in  trust  and  charge  of  its  interests  by  your  own  choice,  can 
accomplish  little  without  your  constant  and  active  sympathy  and 
support.  They  look  to  the  pastors  and  congregations  for  students 
and  aid,  for  kind  words  of  encouragement  and  generous  deeds  of 
liberality.  A word  fitly  spoken  in  the  catechetical  class,  or  in  pas- 
toral visitation,  will  often  leave  an  impression  that  will  result  in 
pious  youth  devoting  themselves  to  the  holy  ministry,  or  in  faithful 
Christians  setting  apart  a portion  of  their  worldly  goods  to  the  use 
of  our  educational  institutions,  the  College  and  the  Seminary.  This 
Ministerium,  with  over  200  ministers  and  more  than  400  congrega- 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


15, 


tioDS,  ought  to  have  her  institutions  so  well  equipped  in  every 
respect  and  so  full  of  students  that  they  would  be  second  to  none  in 
the  land.  To  reach  this  goal  in  the  near  future  should  be  the 
laudable  object  of  our  earnest  endeavor. 

Surely  so  great  a Synod  should  have  more  than  eleven  beneficiary 
students  in  its  own  College.  You  will,  perhaps,  be  surprised  to 
learn  that  the  present  graduating  class  in  Muhlenberg  College  does 
not  contain  one  student  supported  by  this  body,  although  half  its 
members  will  study  for  the  ministry.  The  largest  class  in  the  Col- 
lege, the  Freshman  class,  has  but  one-beneficiary  supported  by  our 
Synod,  the  remaining  ten  beneficiaries  being  divided  between 
the  Junior  and  Sophomore  classes.  Surely  this  is  not  as  it  should 
be,  or  might  be,  if  a little  more  thought  and  attention  were  devoted 
to  this  subject  by  those  who  are  in  a position  to  do  so.  There  are 
certainly  more  than  eleven  young  men  within  the  bounds  of  this 
Ministerium  who  are  unable  to  educate  themselves,  but  who  would 
be  eminently  worthy  to  receive  a training  for  the  ministry  at  the 
hands  of  the  Church. 

Many  of  our  largest  and  most  influential  congregations  and  pas- 
toral charges  have  not  one  representative  in  the  College,  either  as  a 
student  for  the  ministry,  or  as  a lay  member.  Of  the  124  students 
in  the  College  during  the  present  scholastic  year,  only  a few  are 
from  the  largest  cities  and  towns  within  our  bounds,  with  their 
thousands  of  Lutheran  population.  We  do  not  mention  this  with 
the  intention  of  reflecting  on  any  one,  for  we  have  no  such  purpose 
or  spirit,  but  merely  to  show  the  extent  of  our  material,  and  what 
might  and  ought  to  be  done  to  increase  the  usefulness  and  success  of 
the  College  in  the  work  of  the  Church.  It  also  suggests  the  ques- 
tion, which  we  will  not  now  discuss,  as  to  the  future  effect  upon  our 
church,  if  this  vast  material  remains  uneducated,  or  is  trained  in 
other  institutions,  that  are  alien  to  our  faith  and  usages. 

The  cost  of  education  in  Muhlenberg  College  is  certainly  very 
low  in  comparison  with  what  our  people  pay  in  other  institutions 
outside  our  Church.  As  to  the  standard  maintained  in  our  course 
of  instruction,  we  need  but  refer  to  the  fact  that  our  students  have 
been  received  without  examination,  ad  eundem,  into  the  Sophomore, 


3 


16 


0112 105867409 


MUHLENBERG  COLLEGE. 


Junior  and  Senior  classes  of  older  and  larger  institutions  of 
acknowledged  standing  throughout  the  country,  and  have  been 
graduated  from  them  with  honor.  We  could  name  the  students 
and  the  colleges,  if  it  were  necessary  to  do  so. 

Our  graduates,  we  are  informed,  maintain  excellent  grade,  in  some 
instances,  the  first  rank,  side  by  side  with  the  graduates  of  conspicu- 
ous and  venerable  institutions  of  learning.  There  seems  to  be  just 
cause,  therefore,  why  our  Lutheran  people  should  not  always  depre- 
ciate whatever  belongs  to  their  own  Church,  as  they  are  so  apt  to 
do,  but  should  discharge  the  duty  which  they  owe  to  their  own 
College,  and  to  the  faith  in  which  they  and  their  children  have  been 
baptized.  So  great  a body  as  the  Ministerium  of  Pennsylvania, 
with  its  round  100,000  members,  should  certainly  be  able  and  will- 
ing to  furnish  its  College  and  Seminary  with  the  most  perfect  equip, 
ments  of  every  kind,  and  its  activities  and  energies  should  be  organ- 
ized and  directed  to  this  end  as  the  first  and  most  important  object 
claiming  its  attention. 

m a ' • 

What  we  need  to  accomplish  this  is  an  unselfish  spirit  and  interest 
in  the  work  of  the  Church,  greater  unity  and  harmony  of  co-opera- 
tion, with  intelligent  organization  and  well  directed  effort.  If  we 
love  the  Lord  Jesus  and  His  Church  as  we  ought ; if  we  appreciate 
the  great  need  of  more  laborers  to  gather  in  the  ripening  harvest  in 
His  vineyard ; if  we  realize  our  duty  as  we  should,  we  will  labor 
and  pray  earnestly,  unitedly  and  persistently,  until  by  the  blessing 
of  God  our  College  and  Seminary  attain  a usefulness  and  magnitude 
commensurate  with  the  important  work  and  interests  of  this  historic 
and  venerable  Ministerium.  May  the  Divine  blessing  rest  upon  all 
our  efforts  to  promote  the  cause  of  Christian  education.  May  God 
bless  the  College  and  the  Seminary.  Amen. 


